News & Information

19 Dec 2019

Lupin Production Using GrowGreen Products

Lupins: A global perspective

Lupins, which are members of the legume family,originated more or less simultaneously in both North and South America and in the Mediterranean, and have a rich history as a food starting with both the early Egyptian and pre-Incan civilizations. The Roman agriculturists also recognized lupins for their role in soil fertility (1,2). Able to grow in a variety of soil conditions, lupin can fix nitrogen, absorb phosphates from the soil and requires only the addition of potassium. It is considered a highly sustainable crop with excellent nutritional properties, an excellent amino acid profile and its protein level compared to other legumes is one of the highest. (3) White Lupin, the most widely grown subspecies, is grown around the world, but Australia has been the largest producer of white for decades(4). Figure 1 shows worldwide distribution of lupin production (5).

The Grow Green Lupin Study

A study to determine the best combination of GrowGreen products to use in lupin production was conducted in Greenthorpe, NSW, 2016. L.Angustifolus, commonly known as the narrow-leafed lupin, and marketed as Australian Sweet Lupin, was the variety use in the study.

The study was laid out in a randomized complete block design with 4 replications of 12 treatments each.

DESCRIPTION OF TREATMENTS

The treatments, consisting of different formulations of GrowGreen’s AminoElite, M+Kelp and Xtend, are listed in Table 1.

Table 1

AminoElite

M+Kelp

Xtend

TRT No.

l/ha

l/ha

ml/ha

1

0

0

250

2

0

1

250

3

0

2

250

4

2

0

250

5

2

1

250

6

2

2

250

7

3

0

250

8

3

1

250

9

3

2

250

10

4

0

250

11

4

1

250

12

4

2

250

GrowGreen Amino Elite®

AminoElite® is a special liquid fertilizer produced by a proprietary manufacturing process where natural marine products are digested by selected microorganisms transforming the nutrients into L-amino acids that are 100% plant available. It is also enriched with vitamin C and fulvic acid. It also contains plant nutrients, macro and microelements, vitamins and silica. This results in a balanced product suitable for both foliar and soil application that optimizes the plant’s ability to uptake nutrients, improves the soils ability to make nutrients available to the plant and increases both quality and yield of the plant.

This increase is a result of several factors: 1) Bio-stimulants are incorporated in the form of amino acids and microorganisms 2) Both, macro and micronutrients are combined which result in plant growth stimulation and 3) Plant beneficial microbes, bacteria (PGPR), and fungi, are incorporated to aid the plant in dealing with the stresses brought on by drought, diseases and insect attack.

Bio-stimulants, or “metabolic enhancers”, as they are sometimes called, are biologically derived substances that have been shown to enhance overall plant growth and health, resulting in higher quality and yield. They contain nutrients, like traditional fertilizers, however, they function by promoting plants natural processes, thereby enabling more energy to be shunted directly towards plant growth. By increasing plant vigor, thus health, plants are more resistant to drought, pests and diseases.

This balanced and optimized product results in the plant reaching its maximum genetic potential while improving soil health through an increase in plant available nutrients, and a healthy rhizosphere in the form of beneficial plant microbes; bacteria, and fungi. It is a component of treatments 4-12.

Grow Green Microbe Plus (M+) Kelp®

Growgreen’s Microbe Plus (M+) Kelp has been created via a unique process that blends and digests two different species of marine seaweeds belonging to different families with different origins and environmental conditions. Each with its own profile of hormones. This process has created an excellent fertilizer which will supply plants not only with macro and micronutrients but also with the five most important phytohormones and other stimulants.

The benefits of using these selected seaweeds species are due to both; the complementary hormonal content and a full range of molecules with bio stimulant effect. The nutrient composition is not as high as in any other GrowGreen liquid fertilizer. It has been developed due to its stimulatory effect rather than the nutritional content. It is a component of treatments 2,3,5,6,8,9,11 and 12.

XTendTM

XtendTM is an organically certified sticker/spreader that breaks down in the natural process much faster than other mineral oil-based sticker/spreader and reduces the risk of pesticide and oil accumulation both on crops and in the soil. The added vitamin A and E favors microorganism activity in the soil. It is a component of treatments 2-12.

Results

Results of the study are shown in Table 2.

TRT No.

TRT CODE

kg/plot

T-MET

kg/ha

Gross

TRT Cost

NET

Profit

1

0-0

4.888

1.96

1955.2

$1,271

$-

$1,271

0

2

0-1

4.838

1.940

1935.200

$1,258

$5.56

$1,252

-$18.56

3

0-2

4.850

1.940

1940.000

$1,261

$9.46

$1,252

-$19.34

4

2-0

4.975

1.990

1990.000

$1,294

$11.66

$1,282

$10.96

5

2-1

4.938

1.980

1975.200

$1,284

$15.56

$1,268

-$2.56

6

2-2

4.963

1.990

1985.200

$1,290

$19.46

$1,271

$0.04

7

3-0

5.175

2.07

2070

$1,346

$16.66

$1,329

$57.96

8

3-1

5.113

2.05

2045.2

$1,329

$20.56

$1,309

$37.94

9

3-2

4.975

1.990

1990.000

$1,294

$24.46

$1,269

-$1.84

10

4-0

4.763

1.910

1905.200

$1,238

$21.66

$1,217

-$54.16

11

4-1

5.013

2.010

2005.200

$1,303

$25.56

$1,278

$6.94

12

4-2

5.088

2.040

2035.200

$1,323

$27.80

$1,295

$24.20

A Treatment Code was established that indicates the different formulations for clarity in Table 2 and Figures 1 and 2. Since the same amount of Xtend was in every treatment except the control, the Code does not reflect the sticker component. The first digit of the code indicates the l/ha of amino elite in the treatment and the second digit of the code indicates the l/ha of Microbe (M)+Kelp in the treatment.

Yields were measured in kg/plot and then converted to tonnes per hectare, T_MET, as well as kg/ha. A factor of 400 was used since the harvested portion of the plot was 25m2 or 0.0025 ha.

Costs used in calculation of gross income, net income and profit are listed in Table 3.

Table 3: Cost Description

Description

Price (AUD)

Unit

Price Amino Elite

$5.00

liter

M+Kelp

$3.90

liter

Xtend

$6.65

1000 mg

Lupin seed

$650.00

1000 kg

In Figure 2 yield in kg/ha was plotted against the treatment, using the code of the treatment. It was determined that a polynomial equation to the 4th order best fit the data, with an R2 of 0.5865, indicating a good fit to the model.This shows that there is definitely a “sweet spot”, i.e., a specific treatment combination, or set of combinations, that stands out as producing the highest yields. These would be Treatments 7 and 8, or 3-0 and 3-1. Yields fall off on both sides of these treatment combinations.

Figure 2

Lupin is a legume which fixesits own nitrogen. This means that the soil environment surrounding the roots of the plant need to be healthy and optimized in terms of the components of the rhizosphere. As explained above, GrowGreen AminoElite provides the building blocks for this optimized rhizosphere and to aid the plant in dealing with the stresses brought on by drought, diseases and insect attack.

Table 4 shows the percentages of Crude Protein, Lipids and Crude Fiber in the 3 main Lupin species compared to other common grain legumes (7). (The Lupin species used in this study is highlighted by the blue text in Table 4) This data demonstrates that Lupin seed is an alternative to the other more commonly used grain legumes.

In order for Lupin to gain popularity and increase it’s use by farmers around the world, the delicate balance of adding bio-fertilizers and bio-stimulants in the proper quantity and ratio needs to be understood. This balance is absolutely necessary to achieve maximum yields.

Conclusions

This study has shown that GrowGreen Amino Elite along with Grow Green M+Kelp provides that delicate balance that insures growers the highest yield at the lowest possible cost of inputs.